Maven Patterns - French Dart Shift Dress

I had been contemplating options from my stash for a new dress for my Mum's birthday party, and then came across the Maven Patterns French Dart Shift. All stashed patterns went out the window.

I was hopeful the french darts would lend some subtle shaping to the waist while still keeping all the wonderfully comfortable aspects of a shift dress.

I did a stash dive for fabric to try it out in, and came up with a polished cotton I seem to recall purchasing not long after I began sewing.

After making my usual alterations of a Full Bust Adjustment and a Full Butt Adjustment, it sewed up really nicely with all notches and seams matching as they should.
The instructions were excellent, with the option of both quick instructions or full instructions with pictures.

While I think this fabric was not the right choice for this dress, being a little too lightweight, I would definitely make this again something more weighty.

Style Arc Toni Designer Dress

This dress, though not my usual style, really appealed to me when it was released at the beginning of last year.

I right away set to shortening the pieces, and then found myself some navy seersucker to trial it.

I was going along merrily until I got to sewing the centre front seam, and could not for the life of me get the collar points to meet in the front, as shown in the illustration above.
Then the neckline facing was trying to escape out that same gap!

This was hung on the back of my sewing room door with the other W.I.P's, and there it stayed until a couple of weeks ago, when I decided to release it from it's exile and see if I could save it.
I took it in for some advice from the always lovely Maryanne, at Made on Marion, where she diagnosed my error and promptly explained what I needed to do to fix it.

After the fairly simple fix, all it actually needed to be finished was side seams and the hem sewn! 15 minutes of work, after languishing for a year. Doh!

Having now completed it, I believe the fabric to be a little too firm for this design, as it has a much more architectural look than I was hoping for.
As this was originally conceived as a pattern trial I'm not too upset, though I may take some of the width out of the 'wings', because I otherwise like the fit and colour on me.

Verdict: I would like to try it again in another more drapey fabric, perhaps a rayon, tencel or similar.

Cashmerette - Appleton Wrap Dress

I'm a bit of a sucker for a wrap dress, so when Jenny of Cashmerette released her first pattern, I was smitten.

I liked that the Appleton offered different cup sizes, and that it was a nice basic no frills wrap dress.

After reading various sewalong posts on Jenny's blog, I picked a size and dived in. I went with a size 14 E/F.
As usual, I did a full butt adjustment and sized up the back skirt for some comfort room.

My fabric was not as stretchy as recommended, but still gave reasonable and wearable result. I will however use a fabric with the correct stretch next time.

This is fairly close to the true colours

Good bust coverage

Full length mirror selfie

While I'm happy enough with this, I will be sizing up the front skirt also next time, as the overlap on the skirt is not sufficient enough for me to feel comfortable.

Muse Patterns - Gillian Wrap Dress

Kat of the blog, Modern Vintage Cupcakes, has recently started her own pattern line in the midst of having her second child. One very busy lady!
Her line goes by the name of Muse Patterns , and produces modern, wearable patterns with a bit of a vintage twist.

Her second pattern, the Gillian Wrap dress, can also be made as a skirt or top. I have to say I was smitten from the get-go, and purchased this as soon as it was released.

I chose a slinky poly knit, in an alternate colourway to the one I used for the dress I made for my Mum, shown here. I love it!

After making a previous Muse pattern using my full bust measurement, which was much too big in the shoulders, I sized down one size in the shoulders. The rest of the pattern was cut to the size that matched my measurements.
I did end up going back and shortening the bodice by about 1", as the waistband sat just a bit too low, and was causing a little bit of gaping.

After my minor alteration, this has good wrap coverage both in the bodice and skirt, and I really like the skirt length on me - this is the longer of the two options provided.

I have fabric picked out to make another one, as well as a top version.

Simplicity 2372 - Bargainista Fashionista Contest entry

A recent contest on Pattern Review is the Bargainista Fashionista contest, where you find a designer (or not) look you like and make your own inspired-by look.

I'm not a huge follower of fashion, but thought the concept sounded fun, so went for a bit of a Google image surf to find something that took my fancy.
The criteria for my search was it had to be an item I would not generally be able to purchase at designer prices, and just for fun I decided it should be a New Zealand designer.

I eventually settled on a Trelise Cooper design - the Madcat Charm dress - regular retail $659.

My first challenge was to find fabric. You would think a simple monochrome fabric, preferably floral, wouldn't be too difficult to find. After a bit of a search, and even a desparate look at online fabric sources, I changed tack and settled on a white and wine floral cotton twill I found on the Spotlight clearance table!

For the dress, I used the dress from Simplicity 2372. It had the loose silhouette of the original, with a little bit of waist shaping. I added a full bust and full butt adjustment, and then sewed it together in no time flat. This is a lovely pattern, and I believe I will be making it again in the future.

Next challenge was colouring the flowers - I had been given some fabric paints which worked well, but were slow going. I didn't have quite enough co-ordinating colours though, and I wasn't sure what I was going to do about the glitter flowers.
A trip to Made on Marion, and the lovely ladies had me all sorted out -  Martha Stewart does a craft paint range that includes glitter paint and can be used on fabric. I was away!!

The painting took two weeks of evenings and weekends to do, but I'm really pleased with how it has come out.

If you would like to read my review and contest entry, you can find it here.

New Look 6181 - A Dress for Mum

While home for a surprise party for my Dad's birthday, I went fabric shopping with my Mum. One of the patterns they had made up on their mannequins was New Look 6181.

It looked to be a fairly straightforward maxi dress, so I suggested that if she bought the pattern and fabric, I would make it up for her.

A couple of errors were made at this point.
First up, I failed to notice that the fabric suggestions were for wovens or stable knits. We purchased a slinky knit.
Secondly, it didn't occur to me to look at the back of the mannequin, or study the back of the pattern envelope too closely.

Only when I went to cut out my fabric, did I discover that all the front neckline and armholes had facings, and that the entire back panel was cut on the bias as a back drape with a tiny spaghetti strip tie at the back neck! Whoops!

As it transpired, the slinky knit was fine and I just topstitched all the facings down.
The back detail, while unexpected, was also quite simple.

 The only downside to using the slinky knit was that it is quite heavy, so a belt of some description will be a necessity. Apparently, Mum hasn't found one she likes yet :-)

Colette Laurel

Well! After my camera went AWOL for a bit, it has turned up again so I can get on with photographing a bunch of finished projects (not necessarily in the order they were completed, though)

First off, is Colette patterns most recent release, the Laurel shift dress.

I will be the first to admit that when this pattern was released, I was not really very ennthused. I just wasn't convinced this was going to be a good shape for me. After having seen a few iterations made up though, I felt it was at least worth a try.

I chose a cotton poplin that I just loved when I first saw it, but have had sitting in my stash for a bit because the 'right' pattern hadn't presented itself. It is a happy fabric, but not too out there.

I made the pattern up as drafted, except for tracing off the length of the largest size, which gave me about an extra inch to play with. The only other deviation was to machine stitch my sleeve and neck bindings down rather than slipstitch by hand as suggested in the pattern.

This is a really quick sew, particularly as I left out the back zip. I basted the back seam together to check the fit and discovered I could comfortably take it on and off without a zip, so didn't bother!

While this dress is comfortable, and I'm pleased with how it came out, I'm still not sure if this is the right style for me. Time will tell how often this makes it out of my wardrobe.

Final Word: happy enough, but no immediate plans to make it again.

Your Style Rocks - Eva Dress

After reading about the Your Style Rocks on Lazy Stitching's blog, I went to take a look, and fell in love with the Eva Dress.

It's size range finished just a squirt below my own, but I was keen enough to want to give it a try.

After taking advice from the ladies over at Pattern Review about the best way to incorporate my needed alterations, I made a trial of the pattern up in a cotton jersey. The fit was pretty spot on, so I went ahead and made it up in a lovely raspberry coloured merino knit.

The alterations I made were to add 1" to the centre of the front pattern pieces to accommodate a fuller bust and a fuller tummy than was originally intended. I also pulled the top drape piece a little tauter than than the under piece it is tacked to, so the pleats were held a little better.

The drape is designed to start at the waist on one side, and sweep down over the opposite hip, which is a nice detail that lifts the design beyond a plain dress. It also has an inverted box pleat in the back that provides nice shaping too.

It is a very flattering design, and was reasonably quick to go together. I think it has the potential to be dressed up or down depending on how you styled it, and it would make a great dress for travel if you were to use a no-crinkle knit.

I'm still trying to figure out how the cowl neck should be arranged, but this seemed the most flattering way on this particular day!

Colette Crepe

I recently made a muslin of the Colette Patterns Crepe dress, to check it for fit and alterations needed, before moving on to some rather special fabric I had in mind for this pattern.

It is described on the Colette website as 'A sweet and easy wrap dress with no closures to sew. The dress wraps in back and has cap sleeves. The wide ties encircle the waist for a comfortable dress with a fitted look'. 

I used some fabric that I suspect was destined for bedsheets sometime in the 60's, as it looks very similar to some my Mum has lurking in the back of her linen closet.

This dress was very easy to sew, rated as a beginner pattern by the designer, and had extremely well written instructions complete with diagrams. As with all Colette patterns, the instructions are in a wee bound booklet with a pocket in the back that the pattern tissue slips into.

In all, I am very happy with how my muslin came out. My only minor adjustments I would make for next time, are to cut the neckline a size smaller, as I feel it sits just a little too wide on me, and to raise the waist seam by about 1" .

Colette Macaron

I finished my Macaron dress, by Colette patterns a wee while ago, but have only recently worn it again to get a photo or two.

Pattern Description: A flattering and curvy dress. Includes a bodice fitted with darts, along with a contrasting top yoke, sleeves, and narrow midriff band. Short sleeves are gently scalloped along the sleeve hem, echoing the shape of the bodice. Skirt has large pleats, with pockets hidden in the front pleats. Closes with an invisible side zipper.

Pattern Sizing:Size 0 -18. I made a 14 in the bodice, transitioning to a 16 in the waist and hips.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, pretty close.

Were the instructions easy to follow?As with all Colette patterns, the instructions were extremely well written with lots of helpful diagrams.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I liked that there was the opportunity to try out different fabric combinations, and that the design of the dress lends itself to being dressed up or down depending how you style it. I have worn it with heels and a wrap for a wedding, and also with tights and boots as a more casual outfit.

My only minor dislike was the facing around the neckline won't stay put very well, despite stitching it to all available seams inside. Next time I may just use binding as a facing.

Fabric Used:The main fabric is a stretch cotton sateen, and the contrast sleeves and yoke are a poly/cotton poplin.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: As previously mentioned, I made the bodice a size 14, and transitioned to a 16 from the waist down. 

If I were to make this again, I think I might omit the waist band, and sew the skirt to the bodice, as I feel the waist might be a bit low. Also next time I would keep the waistband at a size 14, thus getting the bodice to fit a little better.

The shoulders are also binding a little bit, if I try to lift my arms too high - not sure if this is just the style of sleeve, or how I would go about fixing this for next time. 

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? I would like to sew this again, once I figure out how to fix the few quirks I found. I would definitely recommend this and other Colette patterns, particularly if you are of a more curvy persuasion!